1 If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreames, and giueth thee a signe, or a wonder:
2 And the signe or the wonder come to passe, wherof he spake vnto thee, saying, Let vs go after other gods (which thou hast not knowen) and let vs serue them:
3 Thou shalt not hearken vnto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreames: for the Lord your God prooueth you, to know whether you loue the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soule.
4 Ye shall walke after the Lord your God, and feare him, and keepe his commandements, and obey his voyce, and you shall serue him, and cleaue vnto him.
5 And that prophet or that dreamer of dreames shalbe put to death (because hee hath spoken to turne you away from the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the Lord thy God commanded thee to walke in) So shalt thou put the euill away from the midst of thee.
6 ¶ If thy brother, the sonne of thy mother, or thy sonne, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosome, or thy friend, which is as thine owne soule, entise thee secretly, saying, Let vs goe and serue other gods which thou hast not knowen, thou, nor thy fathers:
7 Namely of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh vnto thee, or farre off from thee, from the one end of the earth, euen vnto the other end of the earth:
8 Thou shalt not consent vnto him nor hearken vnto him, neither shall thine eye pitie him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceale him.
9 But thou shalt surely kill him: Thine hand shall be first vpon him, to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people.
10 And thou shalt stone him with stones, that hee die: because hee hath sought to thrust thee away from the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
11 And all Israel shall heare, and feare, and shall doe no more any such wickednesse as this is, among you.
12 ¶ If thou shalt heare say in one of thy cities, which the Lord thy God hath giuen thee to dwell there, saying,
13 Certaine men, the children of Belial, are gone out from among you, and haue withdrawen the inhabitants of their citie, saying, Let vs goe & serue other gods, which ye haue not knowen:
14 Then shalt thou enquire and make search, and aske diligently: and behold, if it be trueth, and the thing certaine, that such abomination is wrought among you:
15 Thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that citie with the edge of the sword, destroying it vtterly, and all that is therein, and the cattell thereof, with the edge of the sword.
16 And thou shalt gather all the spoile of it, into the midst of the street thereof, and shalt burne with fire the citie, and all the spoile thereof euery whit, for the Lord thy God: and it shall be an heape for euer, it shall not bee built againe.
17 And there shall cleaue nought of the cursed thing to thine hand, that the Lord may turne from the fiercenesse of his anger, and shew thee mercy, and haue compassion vpon thee, and multiply thee, as he hath sworne vnto thy fathers;
18 When thou shalt hearken to the voyce of the Lord thy God, to keepe all his Commaundements which I command thee this day, to doe that which is right in the eyes of the Lord thy God.
Enticers to idolatry to be put to death. (1-5) Relations who entice to idolatry not to be spared. (6-11) Idolatrous cities not to be spared. (12-18)1-5 Moses had cautioned against the peril that might arise from the Canaanites. Here he cautions against the rise of idolatry among themselves. It is needful for us to be well acquainted with the truths and precepts of the Bible; for we may expect to be proved by temptations of evil under the appearance of good, of error in the guise of truth; nor can any thing rightly oppose such temptations, but the plain, express testimony of God's word to the contrary. And it would be a proof of sincere affection for God, that, notwithstanding specious pretences, they should not be wrought upon the forsake God, and follow other gods to serve them.
6-11 It is the policy of Satan to try to lead us to evil by those whom we love, whom we least suspect of any ill design, and whom we are desirous to please, and apt to conform to. The enticement here is supposed to come from a brother or child, who are near by nature; from a wife or friend, who are near by choice, and are to us as our souls. But it is our duty to prefer God and religion, before the nearest and dearest friends we have in the world. We must not, to please our friends, break God's law. Thou shalt not consent to him, nor go with him, not for company, or curiosity, not to gain his affections. It is a general rule, If sinners entice thee, consent thou not, #Pr 1:10|. And we must not hinder the course of God's justice.
12-18 Here is the case of a city revolting from the God of Israel, and serving other gods. The crime is supposed to be committed by one of the cities of Israel. Even when they were ordered to preserve their religion by force, yet they were not allowed to bring others to it by fire and sword. Spiritual judgments under the Christian dispensation are more terrible than the execution of criminals; we have not less cause than the Israelites had, to fear the Divine wrath. Let us then fear the spiritual idolatry of covetousness, and the love of worldly pleasure; and be careful not to countenance them in our families, by our example or by the education of our children. May the Lord write his law and truth in our hearts, there set up his throne, and shed abroad his love!
Commentary by Matthew Henry, 1710.